So, having spent the day reading about footballers being complete and utter eejits (see Barton, Joey and Tevez, Carlos - the latter proving that money cannot buy you class); here's a really nice celeb story involving DWTS contestant Maria Menounos and the power of Twitter:

James and Ola Jordan have both tweeted this afternoon to say they will NOT be appearing in the 2012 Professionals Tour, as they have just received an E-MAIL from the organisers informing them they won't be needed.

Am I the only one who thinks this is a crazy decision? Given that Brendan, Anton/Erin and Vincent/Flavia don't tour with the SCD pros because they do their own thing, the Jordans are the longest serving pro dancers who do tour (seeing as they jettisoned the Kopylova-Bennetts, Ian, Matt....)

And to do it in an e-mail is just rude. (or as someone in Twitter said, they were Hayley Holt-ed)

This makes me scared the Beeb might want rid of the Jordans, especially after the fireworks James has caused heckling the judges over the last few weeks. Which would suck for me, as they're the 2 pros I enjoy the most!

Have just looked around Twitter, and noticed people getting very irate that they've been spoiled for the series finale of Dr Who by other peoples tweets showing up in their timelines.

Am I the only person who reads that and thinks "if you haven't watched it, for whatever reason, what the heck are you doing on Twitter where you know full well the chances of being spoiled are very high indeed?"

If I think I'm going to be spoiled on twitter, I either (a) avoid or (b) scroll very fast & read the tweets with one eye open!

But if I get spoiled, I know I've no-one to blame but myself!

Have also seen the same thing on FB, which I'll agree is inconsiderate in the extreme.... not everyone can watch as it's aired, especially if you're not in the UK/Ireland.

Well, when we heard Becky was staying, there was speculation that someone else would go in her place - this morning, both SoapOperaDigest and SoapCentral on twitter are reporting that Tyler Christopher (Nik) was let go on Friday.

To be honest, the only thing that surprises me about this announcement is that the casualty wasn't Ingo Rademacher; especially after the way Jax called Sonny out after Clink!Boom!2.... that kind of truth telling usually brings dire consequences...

Looks like the CM cast were just as taken aback by the casting news as anyone else:

Paget posted that “"Creative Reasons" has been an Executive Bullshit excuse for DECADES. It IS financial. AJ is a dreamboat. And yes, I am hurt, too.” - presumably in response to the latest news that this is a creative decision rather than a financial one, and that there will be a new female cast member joining the show. Which is further evidence of WTFery and FUCBS.

She followed that with: “Thanks to all the fans. From me, AJ and the cast. We love you. We will always appreciate your support. You are kind and wonderful. KISSES!!”

Thomas Gibson tweeted: “To say we're all mystified and disappointed is an understatement...all the fan support is much appreciated! Stay tuned...”

Joe Mantegna & Kristin Vangness both tweeted links to the petition to save AJ & Paget; in addition, Joe tweeted that he’s been in Europe for the last 3 weeks promoting CM, and the first he heard of this was when he got back to the US. When someone tweeted about him & Kristin being on board to save the ladies, he replied, “Of course we are. We love them and the show wouldn't be the same without them.”

I love that the cast are so close and backing each other up on this; is it too much to hope that TPTB will see the error of their ways?

Saw this on Twitter first thing - Link to ONTD - Scott Clifton has been let go from OLTL, and his co-star Farah Fath has used her myspace to blast fans who criticise her performance: Farah Fath has her middle finger up to the posters on TWOP & SON most everyday. i give it my all in every show. please stop talking sh*t about me for one g*ddamn minute.

I lurk at the OLTL board on TWOP, and I don't think anyone there has been overly mean about her performance, it's mostly the writing that people seem to have a problem with. I've certainly never seen it said that she doesn't give it her all or tanks scenes/stories. (Unlike some actors....) But man, actually criticising fans on her myspace seems to be asking for trouble (especially considering they've just killed off her sister and her kinda-boyfriend has just been canned....)

Re Scott Clifton, I think it's a mistake, as he's one of the better young actors in soaps right now. However, it looks like GH is trying to rebuild the Quartermaine clan, so I'm wondering if there are larger ABC politics in play there....

Have just seen on twitter that Brucie won't be presenting Strictly tomorrow night on doctors orders, as he has a bad dose of the flu.

Tess is stepping in to host the show; but there's no word in who's replacing Tess. After his brilliant behind the scenes reports, I'm totally hoping for James Jordan. Either him, or Claudia Winkleman (who is my first choice, even though I fear she would combust with excitement!)

GL's Clarke RecoveringJordan Clarke (ex-Billy, GUIDING LIGHT) recently suffered a stroke and is recovering. "Jordan Clarke was in L.A. working on VENICE, the Web series," explained the president of his official fan club in a statement. "He had a mild stroke between L.A. and N.Y. His prognosis is good and he's expected to fully recover. Fans are welcome to send cards and well wishes to his fan club. The address is OJCFC, P.O. Box 73, Bloomingdale, GA 31302. Or they can post a message on his message board, at www.jordanclarke.com."

The tweet was just that hed suffered a stroke, which instantly made me think the worst... hopefully he'll make a speedy recovery.

Have just YouTubed Crystal's first scene back on Days of our Lives as Carly Manning - all I can say is Holy Moly, that's how you make an entrance!! (And also, if I hadn't known that was Michael Sabatino, I would not have recognised him!) Link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhxw3ly6oYY

Also, found this on my Twitter this morning; that it looks like Ali Bastian is falling for her professional dancing partner Brian Fortuna: LINK I'd believe this before I'd believe that anything is going on with Kristina and Joe; that one screams showmance to me!!

Paul Anthony Stewart just tweeted that he's at work taping the final episode of Guiding Light today. Final tape date is August 14th, which is tomorrow week. This makes me very very sad.

Am seriously considering creating an FUCBS tag....

Some very quick book recs - I've finished reading these 2 in the last week, and loved them both:

The Likeness by Tana FrenchFrom Amazon: French’s debut novel, In the Woods (2007), introduced Dublin Murder Squad detective Cassie Maddox and earned unanimous critical praise. Cassie is back, and French has written another winner. The body of a young woman is found in the ruins of a old stone cottage in a dying village outside of Dublin, and the dead woman and Cassie are virtual twins. Lacking suspects or leads, the victim is reported by the police to be injured but alive, leaving Cassie to step into the dead woman’s life as a Trinity College graduate student and the housemate of four other students. Despite the tensions of being undercover, Cassie quickly learns to love her quirky, insular housemates and her new life in a once-grand house, even as the Murder Squad investigation yields little. Someone stabbed her doppelganger to death, and Cassie must find the killer. The Likeness has everything: memorable characters, crisp dialogue, shrewd psychological insight, mounting tension, a palpable sense of place, and wonderfully evocative, painterly prose. In the Woods was an Edgar Award finalist; this one just might go one step further.

You don't have to have read Into The Woods to make sense of this one; details are revealed about Cassie from that book, but not how that murder mystery was resolved. I loved this book - lots of twists and turns, I was kept guessing up til the end. And I liked the character of Cassie (even when I wanted to shake her at times!!)

The Summoning by Kelley ArmstrongFrom Amazon: All Chloe Saunders wants is a life like any normal teenager - the chance to get through school, make friends, and maybe meet a boy. But when she starts seeing ghosts, she knows that life will never be normal again. Soon ghosts are everywhere, demanding her attention. When Chloe finally breaks down, she's admitted to a group home for disturbed kids. At first Lyle House seems okay, but as she gets to know the other patients - charming Simon and his ominous, unsmiling brother Derek; obnoxious Tori; and Rae, who has a 'thing' for fire - Chloe begins to realise that something strange and sinister binds them all together, and it isn't your usual 'problem kid' behaviour. And they're about to discover that Lyle House is not your usual group home, either ...

I absolutely loved, loved loved this book!!! I started reading it last weekend when I was away, and I actually begrudged putting it down so that I could go out for dinner. You're trying to piece all the pieces of the puzzle together at the same time as Chloe, and it's just addictive reading; you keep going til it's done. Have just started the sequel tonight, and I'm enjoying it as much as the first!!

Broadband is being intermittently slow tonight (my polite way of saying it's up and down like a fiddler's elbow!!) So to distract myself, I updated my user pics (uploaded a lot of Sea Patrol ones that I made that didn't turn out horribly, and deleted a few that I know I'll never use again!)

Also changed my default icon to the lovely Buffer and X from Sea Patrol, because I'm stupidly obsessed with that show at the moment!!

Discovered that Twitter is evil and addictive (it's almost a worse timesuck than YouTube, hopping from one persons account to the other!) Though whether you have signed up for an account or not, you should all check out Misha Collins (Castiel from Supernatural) page - http://twitter.com/mishacollins - the man is absolutely insane (in a good and funny way!!)

In other soap links, the Goddess that is Crystal Chappell updated her website blog: http://www.ccandfriends.com/blog/ with a really lovely post. She's also joined up to Twitter; so far today she's been tweeting from the set of the July 4th Bauer BBQ, which IS actually a Bauer BBQ this year as Danny and Michelle are back!!! (And I admit, I signed up to Twitter just so that I can follow her tweets. How sad is that??)

And in really sad news: Ethan Zohn, winner of Survivor Africa back in the day, has announced he's battling cancer. Link to People.com article There's also a video on the site where it shows him getting his trademark mop of curls cut off before he undergoes his first session of chemo.

And now, I'm off to watch the remainder of the Champions League Final - not going our way at the moment though!!!!